bell? Oh, that bell!

Yesterday was, well, very out of the ordinary. I was on the engine (yaaay!) and it was quiet. Almost too quiet for our station. I can count all the calls for the entire 24 hour shift on one hand- we normally run 10+ every shift. It was kinda nice, I did all my chores and had a nice day hanging out with the guys at the station. I doubt it will ever happen again, but it was a nice day.

I'm a happy camper now, me and Dad went for a nice long ride on the Harley earlier. There was little traffic so it was just about open roads. When we got home, I pulled out my go kart and rode it around the neighborhood a couple times...until I almost ran out of gas.

I'll try to get back online either tonight or tomorrow and write up a call from a couple weeks ago that was pretty interesting...'till then try not to get too drunk tonite.

I not under the alcofluence of incohol Mr. occiffer. I only had 2 beers (holds up 3 fingers)

take care and happy new year

another LONG shift

I honestly don't have the energy to write much about the past couple shifts. Christmas was slow considering how busy my station usually is. I was on the rescue yesterday and we ran like scolded yard dogs. We barely made it to the station to fill up on gas before getting another call. My partner (whom I usually work with if I'm on the rescue) is really starting to get on my nerves. As time goes by, I'm starting to realize just how inconsiderate he is. I'm going to leave it at that because I'm not going to mention any names or identifying features or anything else...He's just really starting to irk me.

CPR in progress

Last shift was pretty good overall, I managed to get about 2 hours of sleep so I was happy. We ran a few boring calls, but had an interesting diabetic call and the one I'm going to write about...cardiac arrest.

Radio: respond to 123 anystreet for a person down unconsious, not breathing.

While enroute (it was in the next territory over), the engine company onscene gave a update.

Engine: we have CPR in progress at this time, tell Rescue to step it up

Minutes later we were onscene. We grabbed ALL the gear off the unit and headed inside (both jump bags, the monitor, drug box, and suction kit). As we made it inside and into the room with the patient, the engine crew looked somewhat relieved. The paramedic I was working with replaced the pads from the AED with the ones from our monitor and hooked up a couple leads.... The patient was in asystole (I'm sure Scott could explain this better than I could). CPR continued while the patient was intubated. Moments later, we found a good sign, he had a pulse.

Don't get your hopes up, it didn't last long. The engine crew had already shocked him twice with the AED before we arrived.

A couple IVs were started and Epi and Atropine were pushed through one, a lidocaine drip was also hung. One of the guys on the engine rode in the back with us and another drove us to the ER. The gentleman had to be shocked a few times between the time we got him loaded until we dropped him off at the hospital. But another good sign was that he was trying to breathe a little on his own.

I've only been out of training a month and a half and I'm still learning how to do things even on a routine call. I'm starting to get more comfortable with my patient assessment and other skills. I can fill out the paperwork but need a little help with my narrative. I'm still struggling, but I'm learning my territory fairly quickly.

I'm not going to lie and say I knew what was going on the whole time, I've never been on a cardiac arrest before. I helped out by handing things to the people who needed them and really just trying to stay out of the way. Now that I've been on one, I'll have a better idea what needs to be done next time and will gladly jump in without being told what to do. I guess I was a bit overwhelmed in the controlled chaos of it all. But that's OK, I'm still learning and worked with the engine crew a couple weeks before... They knew it was my first cardiac arrest and helped me get through it.

Looking back, I'm not sure if there was much I could have done. There were 5 of us plus the patient in a bedroom, on the floor in what was maybe a space as big as a doorway.

I'm not trying to jinx myself, but if I'm assigned to the rescue again tomorrow, I kinda hope to transport another patient to that ER so I can try to see if the gentleman made it. Either way, I can't help but feel for his family, especially at this time of year.

Tell a loved one that you love them, and take care as always

What does it look like?

Last shift can be summed up with just one word....Murder. Halfway through the shift I was starting to forget what the inside of my station looked like.

Thus far, working 24-hour shifts hasn't been that bad. At least until last shift. From a few minutes after 0700, as soon as the previous crew came back from their call, we were off and running. We caught call after call. A few minutes before midnight, we made it back to the station. I put the calls into the logbook and the computer and went to bed. MAYBE 45 minutes later the bell rang for a fire. Caught another call as we left that scene. I think it was almost 4 when we got back to the station. The EMS Gods were cruel. Right as my head hit the pillow I took a nice, refreshing sigh... Just as the bell rang again. So much for sleep.

30 minutes to shift change and we were back at the station, my partner started some coffee and turned on the TV while I dozed in the recliner. The new shift came in and we gladly passed the rescue to them (They got a call before I could even make it to my car).

There weren't any interesting calls to report-at least not that I can remember. We ran 1 MVC, 1 fire call, and everything else was medical. Most calls lately have been boring, the cold weather is making people sick. First-time moms don't know what to do with their sick baby or somebody has the flu... Things that most people in the EMS field won't even bat an eye over, but these people freak out and call us. I know that's what we're there for, but I guess I'm still cranky from getting tortured last shift. 

As soon as I got home yesterday I went straight to bed, I'd basically been up over 28 hours. It was after 7pm when I finally woke up and got something to eat. 

Hopefully, tomorrow won't be nearly as bad. I'm going to be working at another station for the shift and I'm not sure how busy they normally are. It should be interesting, at least I hope so.

Take care

Military Humor

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the skies,
Air defences were up, with electronic eyes.
Combat pilots were nestled in ready-room beds,
As enemy silhouettes danced in their heads.

Every jet on the apron, each SAM in its tube,
Was triply-redundant, linked to the Blue Cube,
And ELINT and AWACS gave coverage so dense
That nothing that flew could slip through our defence.

When out of the klaxon arose such a clatter
I dashed to the screen to see what was the matter;
I increased the gain and then, quick as a flash,
Fine-adjusted the filters to damp out the hash.

And there found the source of the warning we'd heeded:
An incoming blip, by eight escorts preceded.
"Alert status red!" went the word down the wire,
As we gave every system the codes that meant "FIRE!"

On Aegis! Up Patriot, Phalanx and Hawk!
And scramble our fighters--let's send the whole flock!
Launch decoys and missiles! Use chaff by the yard!
Get the kitchen sink up! Call the National Guard!

They turned toward the target, moved toward it, converged.
Till the tracks on the radar all finally merged,
And the sky was lit up with a demonic light,
As the foe met his fate in the high arctic night.

So we sent out some recon to look for debris,
Yet all that they found, both on land and on sea
Were some toys, a red hat, a charred left leather boot,
Broken sleigh bells, white hair, and a deer's parachute.

Now it isn't quite Christmas, with Saint Nick shot down.
There are unhappy kids in each village and town.
For the Spirit of Christmas can't hope to evade
All the web of defences we've carefully made.

But a crash program's on: Working hard, night and day,
All the elves are constructing a radar-proof sleigh.
So let's wait for next Christmas, in cheer and in health,
For the future has hope: Santa's coming by stealth

Seriously???

Yesterday was the last day before my boyfriend left to get ready to go to Iraq. He won't actually leave until April (or so), but most of his training will be in Cali.

We've spent the past 2 weeks practically connected at the hip. Knowing we'd be apart for over a year makes it easier to tolerate anyone...kidding. His birthday was a couple weeks ago and we've been hanging out a lot lately. Last night, my Mom offered to make whatever he wanted for his last REAL dinner...Mmm, spaggetti.

After dinner was over and my brother and his wife left, Mom and Dad cleaned the table and left us alone to watch TV. A few minutes later, he proposed.

We've been dating almost 2 1/2 years and have joked about it, but for some reason, I thought he was kidding. I just kept asking if he was serious. I've never had a boyfriend who was this respectful of me (or even as decent a human being) before. My mind as well as my heart started racing a mile a minute. Once he finally convinced me he was serious, what else is there to say? I mean, the guy who races to open every door for me, gets mad if I try to pay for my own meal, and nearly cries just from watching me hurt -just asked me to be a part of his life!

days off

Not much to write about lately, I've had a couple extra days off. I work a 24/48 schedule (24 hours on, 48 hours off). Each month, we get a liberty day...basically a free 5 day vacation. To help out one of the guys at my station who didn't get the vacation time around Christmas, we swapped liberty days. So basically, I was off the shift before, worked yesterday, and don't have to work again until Thursday. Stuff like that I really don't mind, he has kids and a family to be with, my family understands and has already planned to wait to open the gifts we would normally open Christmas Eve.

Haven't had many good calls lately. We went on a bad car accident last night, one fatality and another patient that went by helicopter to the ER. One of the cars was on it's side resting against some trees. The heavy rescue team came out to stabilize the car and help get the body out for the medical examiner. It wasn't really a gruesome scene, but everyone was a little quiet as they went about their business.

My parents lost their minds last weekend...in a good way. They came home with a Harley-Davidson. It's got a lot of the chrome options and rides great. I can't wait to go on a mountain run with my dad. I'd love to learn how to ride, but not on a Harley, that's too nice of a bike should I get into an accident or drop it.

I haven't eaten in about 24 hours and my boyfriend's here, we're going to go get food. (He's leaving in 2 days)

Take care

Fire Fun...

Yesterday was a good day, busy, but good. I managed to get on the engine and we ran a lot of EMS calls as well as a car accident. But the highlight of the day was a car fire. Usually, on fire alarm and vehicle fire calls, there hasn't been a hazard...This wasn't a usual call I guess.

Yesterday was a 'yucky' kind of day, really overcast and raining on and off. We were out in our territory and finishing up a business inspection when we were dispatched for a vehicle fire. Being the tailboard rider, I was doing a balancing act to get my gear on while in route to the call. I got everything on and was holding my facepiece, looking out the front window as we proceeded down the street. As we rounded a curve, I saw it, a large cloud of smoke rising from a car engulfed in flames. I spun back around and put on my facepiece, helmet, and gloves, then hopped out and grabbed one of the crosslays(200ft of hose with nozzle). We broke a connection since we only needed 100ft and the line was charged. I put the regulator on(to breathe air from the SCBA), bled the air from the line, and made the attack on the car (with the seat-man right behind me of course!).

The car was rolling good when we got there, both front tires had melted, as well as the front of the hood. The front windshield had somewhat disentegrated and the fire was trying to move through the fire wall and into the dashboard. I guess getting the hood open on this one shouldn't be a problem.

As soon as the first drops of water hit the fire, all went to smoke and steam- all I could think was that I knew the car was right in front of me so keep aiming there and see if the visibility gets better. Thankfully, the fire was under control in a few moments. One of the windows was shattered so we could unlock and open the doors to help ventilate and see any more hot spots. We kept drenching certain areas under the hood that kept smoking.

The driver was lucky to get out safely, he managed to get his car completely off the road before parking it.

On a funnier note. Earlier that morning, the engine driver explained to me that he normally had the pressure set for 90psi. If there was more than one line being operated, the pressure would be boosted to keep both lines at 90, but if one line shut down, the other would get more pressure and to use the nozzle to control the pressure until he could adjust it. After we made it back to the station, I was asking some questions aboutthe water pressure I was getting and what was the pressure set at. Things I'm not really required to know since I can't operate the pump, but hey, even rookies can be curious! Turns out at first it was set for 90, but only putting out 80psi. (He was asked to boost the pressure some in the middle of the extinguishment). He bumped the pressure to 100psi, and of course, the pump sent 120psi through the line. Even I knew something happened when I had to gate it back a little! 

The tow truck driver told us about a time he was carrying a burnt car and it rekindled as he was driving down the street. He asked us repeatedly to make sure it was out before he loaded it. He was being nice about it so we humored him. I took turns watching for and adding a little water wherever there was still a little smoke (hard to do on a windy day). As I was flowing a little water on the last hot spot I realized there was a problem. I shut down the nozzle, turned to the driver and said "uh, I think we're out of tank water......the line just went limp." His eyes got as big as saucers and he took off running to the engine. Sure enough, it was empty. There wasn't a big fiasco, the fire had been out for a while, this was the 3rd or 4th time we wet it down. Besides, we were lucky, there was a hydrant right across the street...I've been told that rarely happens.

It wasn't a bad shift, we ran a few calls overnight...also had the telephone ring a lot. I guess I'll just be the typical rookie, overexcited and overeager to let my friends and family reading this know.....................

I got my first fire!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!

what a day

Today has been a long one, I've spent the day cleaning. I had to clean up the mess I left from painting my new bedroom, vacuum until I could vacuum no more, and put together the new ceiling fan. The longest part was making sure the floor is as clean as possible, my dad promised to help me by shampooing the carpet tomorrow. It took over an hour of vacuuming until I could run it over the entire room and not pick up and more dirt. Of course the ceiling fan didn't come with the mounting plate I need so I'm going to stop by the store on the way home from work.

I'm going to make a prayer request, a couple days ago I learned my boyfriend of over 2 years is going to be headed overseas soon. He leaves for 3 weeks next month for training, coming home for Christmas, then heading off to fight in the "War against Terrorism." Frankly, I'm scared to death for him. He is a chemical specialist, so anything biological he'll be in the middle of. He also has his liscense for the Hummer and usually gets stuck driving a Sgt. Major around. Both will make him a likely target. Like I said, please pray for him (and my nerves!).

Not much interesting at the station lately. I've been on the ambulance the past few shifts- I don't mind it really, it makes learning the territory a little easier when you're driving it. I'm starting to get used to the daily routine of cleaning, checking the units in, dealing with the occasional civilian wanting their blood pressure checked, and working the computer programs. I'm still trying to adjust to having to be able to function normally when I woke up 30 seconds ago and am now rolling down the street lights and sirens at 3 am...I'm not sure if I'll ever really get used to that.

take care

Safety thoughts....

First of all...dcfrff2, thanks for the warning, I didn't think I'd put anything down that could violate hipa-guess that's how you live and learn. I'd been told that an engine and a rescue were considered a double company, I stand corrected. I somewhat figured the big brass would try to keep up with us and if I have to I will make this a private journal- but that is my last resort. For me, this is my outlet, a chance to get everything off my chest, and share stories with some friends...and not all of it is fire related (quite often it's my parents). I'll see if I can still get my point across without giving too much information.

I'm so tired right now I don't plan to write much anyways.

That being said.....

As the weather grows colder, I'm with the general populous...I turn up the furnace, grab warm blankets, and (if I had one) I would light a fire in the fireplace. This is the time of year to make sure everything is in it's place and working properly. If you have a gas stove, furnace, or water heater- make sure there are no leaks in the gas lines and that anything that could ignite a fire or prevent firefighters from getting to a fire to put it out is removed from that area. If you are fortunate enough to have a fireplace, this is the time to have someone clean the chimney, if it prevents a fire, it's money well spent...and always remember to open the flue. Don't forget to check the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors as well.

Other than that, we ran about 10-15 calls. Most were fire alarms-either false alarms or we were cancelled. Came eerily close to making it to a couple legitimate calls for something burning. Only had a couple medical calls, nothing interesting on either call for us...just helped the guys out on the rescue. The rest of the day was spent cleaning, doing inspections, taking a couple small tests, and staring at the big map of the territory.

take care

First Shift

Friday night I hardly received any sleep, not for lack of trying, I was too excited. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I couldn't wait for it to be time to get up...Only I was going to work instead of getting presents. 

My new home is a double company, a Rescue and an Engine-normal crew of 5 per shift. It's not in the area of town I'd prefer, in fact, it's in one of the areas I usually avoid. It could be worse.

I made it to the station about 0625 and had to wait until someone else showed up to get in (I don't have a key yet). I made it in and met my Cap't and the guy who would be driving the engine for the day, the rest of the crew arrived not long afterward. I put my gear on the engine and watched the driver check the inventory log, I was trying to get a rough idea where everything was. The engine was moved outside so we could wash it and clean it up. Cap't came out to talk to me and let me know what my responsibilities would be. I knew that being the rookie I'd get the crappy jobs, but I didn't know I'd have ALL the jobs. Being a Saturday (house day) there was a little more to be done. I had to clean the bathroom, sweep and mop/or vaccuum all floors, turn up all the matresses so they could air out, empty the trashcans, clean the dishes and empty the dishwasher. I'm also responsible for putting the exhaust system over the tailpipe after each call and I'm the one who pumps the gas when the engine needs it (we have a big diesel storage tank at the station).

The first 2 calls of the day were fire alarms-both were false alarms. The first was smoke in the kitchen of a restaraunt, it was the first time their heater system had been used this year. The other was a fog machine in a church that set off the alarm. The next few calls were medical-related. One was a 4-car accident on the expressway. The 2 people in the car that caused the accident were transported to the hospital with neck and back pain.

The next call was dispatched as a possible broken finger. HA! We rolled up to see 2 police cars onscene. Inside, a man was arrested right after we arrived. The lady with the "broken finger" claimed he locked her in a bedroom overnight and threw her down some stairs and beat her that morning. PD came back in to question her after finding out she had a restraining order against him. He got a nice ride with a new pair of shiny silver bracelets, she got to sign a TNT.

We had a break from calls for a while and went to do some hydrant testing. Again, being the rookie, I had to spin the hydrants...all 15-20 of them. We got through one subdivision and had to catch another call. Difficulty breathing at an assisted living facility. Claimed to be in pain but had multiple pain prescriptions, was transported to the hospital. We went in service and picked up lunch on the way back to the station.

Later on, we finished checking the hydrants in that area and ran a few more calls not worth mentioning. That night, we were cancelled on most of our calls. Another fire alarm came in, this time at the mall-it was another false alarm. We also responded to a woman in labor, our driver was a paramedic and rode on the BLS ambulance to the hospital in case she had the baby while enroute. After picking him up, we made it to the station and were able to lay in bed all of 2 minutes before the bell rang again, we were cancelled while enroute. Finally made it to bed about 0245 and slept until shift change at 0700. We ran at least 10 calls and I'm beat. It'll be better once I get used to it, the fact that it gets dark at 1800 doesn't help.

I'll try to write down some notes so I can remember the 'good calls' from my next shift (Tuesday). Until then...it's dinnertime, then naptime.

Take care and stay safe

Finally!!!

I'm done with my training, and almost done with orientation. Graduation is in 4 days- I will get my shield, be sworn in, and get my black helmet (the yellow training helmets are not allowed in burning buildings and are a point of ridicule and torment in the field). Tomorrow we go back to EVOC to make sure everyone can be cleared to drive the ambulances.

I know I haven't written much lately...I've been spending a lot of time at a nearby haunted house- besides, it's hard to go online when your computer has a virus. I'll soon make up for the slacking, I'll be in the field as early as Saturday.

Gotta run, tonight's the last night for the haunted house and I need to go eat and get ready....

take care

yeah, yeah, I know....

Been having an OK time lately- having a bit of a time-management issue but doing good I guess. It's been crazy at the academy lately (well, sorta), times of intense learning with hours of extreme boredom in the middle. Did a couple burns since the last entry, that was fun. I wish I had more time to write, but I've only gotten 4.5 hours of sleep the past 2 nights so I'm about dead right now. Hopefully I'll have more time later this week and will try to update...no promises.

take care

A lot has been going on

Haven't written in a while, been overloaded with things lately. A week ago today, my grandad passed away, he'd been in the hospital since the same day I went to the ER. We moved him to hospice the day before he died. It's also been really weird at the academy. The EMT class challenged us to 'anything, anytime,' well, let's just say they cheated at every station and we still beat them! One of our instructors' father passed away. The funeral was yesterday and we were supposed to have the day off. In times of natural disaster or manmade chaos, anyone is subject to recall. I received a phone call about 1100 to get my stuff packed, plan to stay overnight, pick up my gear from the academy, and head to the temporary command center for my assignment. Got off work around 0200 this morning. I'll write more later, my lunch is here and I have a lot of things to get done.

Take care

Hurricane fun...

Ya gotta love what a hurricane does to traffic, people, and simple things like the power. We got to the academy this morning and everything was pitch black...no power at all. Those of us that had them, retrieved flashlights from our vehicles. We sat around in the dark, enjoying the serenity of it all, happy to be shaded from the rain. *BoOm!!* The instructors burst that bubble...PT formation! We ran for about an hour and a half...5 minutes into it we were drenched! I'll dare to mention the 8-inch deep x 7-foot across puddle we ran through 5 times. (I'm feeling lucky tonight...lol)  I just hope my shoes won't be too soaked for tomorrow. We made it back to the academy at 0905 and had until 0915 to get changed into BDU's, Chief's coming to talk to us...still no power-where's that stupid flashlight?

About 0925, Captain finally made it down to talk to us. Due to the massive amout of power outtages (including ours) we were getting assigned to fire stations. I made it to my assigned station right at 1000. I was quickly assigned to the engine and within a few minutes, ran a call to a house fire. C'mon, my luck isn't THAT good...there was no fire. It was reported by the alarm company and was obviously a false alarm. Later on, the ladder made it back to the station and I was swapped, a priviledge the other firefighters from that station are never afforded. Moments after I took the last bite of my lunch, the bell rang. Rock and roll...Big dispatch, house fire-possibly spread to next house over, the nearest ladder was on a call so we were part of the first alarm. Again, my luck isn't that good- that ladder went in service so we're SOL again.  A possible reprieve? Second alarm goes out and we are off again. Well, we made it all but the last mile there, and the second alarm was cancelled. The engine that I was on earlier, from my station, was part of the first alarm and I got to watch them go zipping past as we turned around. And yes, my heart sank...especially when I found out later that about 5 of my classmates were there. Not sure if I would've really missed the overhaul portion- but this whole day was a stroke of luck to start with (so-to-speak). Absolutely nothing else happened all day, I sat around the station watching TV and joking around with the guys. We thought we'd get more calls so none of us took our turnout pants off after lunch, oh well, live and learn.

I got off work 2 hours ago and I'm bored brainless. I'm a couple weeks ahead in my workbook, and I literally can't focus on studying anymore. I'm burned of the stupid book, 3-day weekends = long hours in the book.   We were told that we would be at our stations 'until further notice.' OK then, so do I report to the academy or to the fire station at 0700 tomorrow? The wind is supposed to pick up again overnight, I kinda hope it does so this 'until further notice' thing can be more than a day long...It all (probably) hinges on if the academy has power in the morning. I hope not.

Take care, and avoid any and all hurricanes

Eddie, I know you're reading this...thought you were gonna call me last week, buttmunch

PT ain't no joke!

OK, start time 1730...let's see how quickly I can do this before I get distracted, again

0700 yesterday, started doing PT as usual- just to do a warm-up. The instructors came down and told us to get all our turnout gear except our facepieces. Once we all got our gear on, we went to the 5th floor of the tower to get a section of 3-inch hose. The clock starts ticking. We had to go back down the tower and unroll our hose, then get it back up onto our shoulder in an 'approved carry'. Almost everyone went for an accordion fold. The reason for all of this is simple, physical conditioning. You have 1 hour to try to climb the 7-story tower as many times as possible, aiming to make 10 trips. A lot harder than it sounds. When there was about 20 minutes left (according to a classmate), I made it to the top again and knew I wasn't feeling too good-something just felt wrong. First thing I did was dump the hose, take off my helmet and gloves, and sat down. I figured since my vision was a little blurry, I'd sit down a minute so I couldn't fall down. One of the instructors was up there along with a paramedic from our class, she told him that he'd better not come down without me-then left.

I'm sitting there and, since I was in full turnout gear, very warm and trying to catch my breath. The medic comes over and asks "you OK?" I guess I didn't respond very well since he started telling me I was really flushed and felt too warm, then suggested I take the SCBA and coat off. No arguments here, I reached down and popped the release for the SCBA and let him get it all off. Next thing I know, about 6 more classmates come flying up the stairs. One looked at me for all of 2 seconds, then yelled down to the instructors that I was down and not moving a lot. A bunch of them stood me up and took the rest of my gear off, them laid me back down. By this time, 2 more classmates that are medics made it up the tower. One literally stood over me and tried to get me to slow my breathing down-I was hyperventilating and big time. Luckly, there was a chair on the roof and they loaded me into it and carried me down.

Once out of the tower, gatorade was brought to me and ice packs were shoved in all kinds of places (there was even one on top of my head!). My BP was 96/P, PaO2 100%, Resp. upper 30's-low 40's I think, and pulse was 140. The big problem of the moment was my breathing. With a real case of hyperventilation, you blow off too much carbon dioxide and as a result, your hands and lips become numb. Well, let's just say the lower half of my face was numb, and my hands were so numb that my left hand 'locked' open- I could barely make a fist. By now, it's been about 15-20 minutes since I went down, and here come both Captains from the admin. trailer, both are paramedics also. I was taken out of the chair and laid on the ground. While one Captain asked me a line of questions, the other called our dispatch and requested an ambulance. About this time, one of the medics from my class started an IV (18 in left AC) and ran a bag wide open with the first medic squeezing the bag (NS with a macro set). They checked my vitals again, BP was coming up, pulse down to 130, accu-check was 95, still numb and hyperventilating a bit. A minute or two later, the ambulance pulled up. I already had about 350-400cc's from the IV bag into me. I was loaded and did a bit of questioning while my Captains made sure everything was in order. Then enroute to the hospital. While on the way, the IV was slowed down to half-speed and vitals were repeated.

0936...Once in the hospital, I was triaged just long enough to get my fancy new bracelet before I was moved to a room in the ER. After a few minutes, the Dr. came and briefly checked me over. Then a chest x-ray was done. A bit later, the nurse came in to remove the actual IV (had to put the INT on it, classmates were in a hurry I guess)  and take some blood- 6 small tubes. I was happy about it, since I had a good line established, she hooked her stuff right into it and didn't have to stick me again to get the blood samples. Shortly after that, the tech came and tried to do an EKG. As soon as she touched my shirt she figured out why I kept asking for a blanket, I was still soaking wet from sweat. I was quickly told to ditch the shirt while she grabbed a gown and some dry sheets. She came back and did the EKG (everything was normal), then hooked me up to the monitor in the room and checked my vitals. They even checked orthostatic BP (does blood pressure drop significantly when standing up compared to lying down), all normal. By this time the numbness was gone, even from my hands. She changed the wet sheets and brought a warm blanket and then went on about her business. Occasionally, a nurse or tech would come in and talk to me, but nothing of any real signifigance. The highlights were watching other medics and EMT's from my county drop off patients. One of theguys that brought me likes to mess with me whenever he gets the chance. I saw him go by and yelled out "Ambulance driver!" A moment later, he backed up and spotted me. He cracked a couple jokes about me still being there and wanted to know what had been done/ found out. I filled him and his partner in and we talked for a few minutes until they had to get back to the truck. 

Literally hours later, I was released-but allowed to remain in my room until my Captain came to pick me up. About 1430, a nurse asked me when I ate last (the night before around 1700) then quickly brought me a meal. That nasty hospital food has never tasted that good before. There was a huge mixup about -get this- actually picking up the phone to the academy and letting them know I was ready to leave. I got to hang out a couple extra hours because of that. Once the Captain finally made it, we realized the Doc forget to sign one of my release forms. It was the one that allowed me to return to full duty, the same one I fought him over hours earlier. How convieniant. If I would have listened to him and taken today and tomorrow off, 1-I'd never catch up on the material, and 2- I'd NEVER live it down from the instructors.

We made it back to the academy minutes before final formation time...My luck, they released early and I saw half the class leaving as we pulled in. Oh well, break my heart I didn't have to stand at attention forever. I went into the classroom to grab my stuff and the remaining classmates burst into a round of applause, a couple even stood up. (It was the majority of the class, all the ones that didn't pass National Registry have to stay late for extra remediation this week)

Today wasn't too bad, I was expecting to get ribbed by everyone. By the end of the day however, some of the jokes had turned cruel and were starting to get on my nerves. The line had been crossed. It was mainly one guy who I've been annoyed by constantly in the past, I told him to (in no uncertain terms) kiss my ass and screw off. As an old movie once said "Nasty little boys like you will get their come-uppence some day." 

On the bright side, tomorrow we get to put our newly-acquired rescue/extrication knowledge to the test. We get to cut up 3 cars. The icing on the cake is that a local news station is going to be filming it for a special report. The only down side is that we will be in full gear all day, and it's expected to be hot. In fact, I guess I'd better go continue hydrating before dinner is ready...I don't want to repeat yesterday ever again. Oh, I plan to take pictures (Flapsdwn, I promise I'll send them if you remind me to upload them).

Trip to the ER today

Yeah, I don't have time to write about it now (unfortunately I do require sleep), but I spent 6 hours in the ER today. Pushed it a little too hard during PT this morning. I'll try to write it all down and update tomorrow.

Take care

Crunch Week...the breakdown

Crunch Week-A dreaded monster that relentlessly continues its barrage of mental and physical attacks for 5 days.

 Monday

First thing, THE Fire Chief comes down and fires 3 classmates. No explanation, no better-luck-next-time, just leave your issued stuff and get out-see ya tomorrow at 0900 to fill out paperwork. We were a little shell-shocked, kinda spent the day walking around without really having a purpose as to where we were going or what we were doing at the moment. The day was spent learning Haz-Mat awareness, really more like trying to stay awake through it. After class, we did a few practical stations to get ready for the state to come test us Friday. On the way home, I was rear-ended at an intersection by another car (see previous entry).

 Tuesday

The state came and tested us over Haz-Mat, we took a written and a practical test. We spent the day and a few extra hours studying and doing practicals.

 Wednesday

Again, most of the day was spent on practicals. We took a vote and went home at the normal time. The Deputy Chief had given us a test, 100 questions long, and told us to do it-look up the correct answers- and don’t bother coming to work the next day if it wasn’t done. I was up late working on it.

I also found out that my boyfriend had to go to the emergency room that morning…kidney stone. As if I didn’t have enough things to stress over LOL.

 Thursday

The state came and we took the written exam, as well as those of us that failed the Haz-Mat practical doing our re-take. The rest of the day (and a few extra hours) was more practicals.

 Friday

It took from about 0800 until 1730, but everyone made it through the practicals. We also found out our scores on the written from the day before….everyone passed. That night, I was so tired I went to bed at 2030 (8:30) and slept until 0930.

Burn, baby, Burn

 OK, I’ve been promising a big update for a couple weeks, I finally have time and energy to follow through with it. Hope I can remember everything.

 Monday 8-16-04…..car and dumpster fires

 We grabbed our gear and assembled at the car and dumpsters at the academy. Each person had a partner and took turns, one attacked the fire while the other opened the hood, or if you were on the dumpster-one attacked the fire while the other opened the doors. I must be able to really pick ‘em because my partner simply let go of the hose when he was told to go open the hood of the car. The instructor also told him NOT to prop the hood open with the Halligan bar on the wood in the engine compartment. Yep, as soon as I opened the line the hood slammed shut. Before I can shut the line down, he lets go again. Lucky for me, there was an instructor right behind me both times, and he caught me both times. It was rough, but I managed to work my way all the way around the car.

 The dumpster wasn’t as much fun as the car, simply flow water into the open doors until told to shut it down.

 Wednesday 8-18-04….Burn building

 Since we’ve been there before, we are allowed to drive directly to the state academy without the pit stop at our academy. I got there early, really, really early. I’m sitting in my car, listening to the radio and debating whether or not I should nap for a while since I was almost an hour early. Over a hill, about 150 yards away, I spot movement. A bunch of deer are having a morning breakfast of their own. Who would’ve guessed? A little bit later a few classmates show up so we sit around on our cars talking and waiting for the instructors to show up.  

 Fast forward to about 0900

 Those of us that were early had already staged the pallets and hay bales into the building, it’s now time to light it. After a few minutes, everyone gears up and the whole class plus instructors crawls into one room of the building (between 35-40 total). Everyone is on their knees, shoulder-to-shoulder with the next guy, facing the fire. It was definitely warm in there. Similar to cops getting pepper-sprayed in order to carry the stuff, we have to upset the thermal layering (heat rises-cold sinks) to help us learn what not to do and why not to do it. Water is sprayed and as the smoke literally drops slowly to the floor, the temperature skyrockets. Some genius classmate made the comment “This isn’t too bad.” Well, surprise, it can be “On your feet!” One word says it all, damn! The fun wasn’t over yet, the next order was to climb the stairs to the next level. Remember that little heat rises thing? The steel handrails of the stairway were glowing red-hot.

 A few minutes later and everyone has geared-down and is assigned a crew and instructor. My crew started off serving as the RIC (rapid intervention crew) for the basement, The RIC is stationed just outside the door with a hose line should anything go wrong inside. Our turn came and we went in as the primary team. Me and my partner did a quick search and found the adult victim and rescued it, went back inside, and had to go bring it back for the next group. Everyone then took turns flowing water in each of the different patterns we had been taught. Then we backed out so the next group could go.

 Next, we served as the RIC for the first floor, then had our turn to go inside and search. We were to be the last crew in before lunch. My partner and I did a right-hand search while the nozzle man held the flames back and the other 2 in our crew did a left-hand search. The other search crew beat us to the stairway so we returned to the hose line as they continued upstairs. They found a victim (infant dummy placed by instructors) and busted tail to get down and out. I was about to turn and leave when the instructor got my attention. I crawled over and he told me to got to the corner and set off my PASS alarm (personal alert safety system-normally goes off if you don’t move for a certain amount of time). Now I know what’s going on and I’m game for a little fun. I crawl into the corner, lay down, and hit the little red button…..No RIC team……alright now dangit, where are they?……umm, I getting a little worried now….Finally! The door busts open and here comes some of the RIC, and some of my crew. As one guy starts trying to find the straps of my SCBA to hold on to, he nearly broke the seal of my mask and almost knocked my helmet off. Meanwhile, another has grabbed my legs and starts dragging me towards the door. FYI, always extricate someone headfirst. As they got me outside, I was laughing like crazy, my butt and SCBA drug the ground the whole way out. Turns out my crew didn’t even know I was missing and the RIC forgot to count how many of us went in. At least they got me out…eventually.

 Lunchtime! Of course we goofed around, duh! Lunch is the only time we are allowed to take off all the turnout gear, normally, we have to keep the pants/boots on.

 After lunch was the final trip into the flames, and they made sure it was scorching in there. Anyone who had 3,000 psi or more in their bottle was told to gear-up. I had 2,900 but was told it was close enough. We started in the basement, again doing a right-hand search, I’m leading. Upstairs to the first floor, all clear. On to the second floor. As we’re moving and blindly sweeping (it’s pitch-black), I planted my hand into something soft…the infant. “I got one!” Now the race is on to find the stairs and get the ‘baby’ out. I passed it to my partner so I could find the stairs easier. As we went down, his bell started ringing (bell rings at 1,500 psi- facepiece starts vibrating at 1,000 psi-basically a warning to get out fast before you run out of air). On the first floor he rushed out the door and I had to stand up in the heat and wait on a new partner. OK, time to rock and roll again. We took off and went straight down to the basement, everything upstairs was clear. As we go around the room, we found the other victim, the very heavy remains of  another dummy, this time an adult. We both grabbed it and drug it out the door and up the stairs, then went back in. The instructor quickly stopped us and had us bring the dummy back in for the next group. Then we sat on the hose line awaiting orders to back out.

 The only bad things that happened all day was  when a classmate committed the cardinal sin of burn building days and an instructor was also injured. The classmate left her partner and ran out of the burn building…twice. The instructor was about to take a step (inside the burn building) and his knee popped and gave out. He normally wears a knee brace but decided to go without it.

 Once everyone was done, we put the fires out and began to overhaul, or clean everything up. All the junk from the fires had to be removed from the building and soaked to make sure the fire was out. We packed the hoses and all our gear into the van and our vehicles and headed home. Most went home to baby their knees. Thanks to all the crawling, I had half-dollar sized blisters on both knees…both had burst and the skin underneath was a bright red, and very raw.

draggin' along

Well, this is "crunch week" at the academy. Today was Haz-mat awareness, the state comes to test us tomorrow morning. We're also squeezing in a review, a final exam, and a bunch of practice for practicals before the state comes back Thursday and Friday to test us over NPQ-I.

Whenever I can think clearly again I'll do a big update on how the burn building went...overall, it was a blast (no pun intended).

Oh yeah, about 2 and a half hours ago I was on my way to visit some old friends at the next county over's fire station (I have buddies all over). Well, long story short, I was rear-ended in an intersection. I'm not hurt at all and my car has minimal damage. Just the corner of the bumper is dented in and a piece of trim between the bumper and the taillights is messed up, nothing that can't be fixed...I guess it's a good thing he was following me too closely when he hit me, his insurance will fix it (if you know me, I'm a nut about my car).

Books and study guides are a-callin my name.........

can't...feel...my...legs!!

I'll admit it, today was rougher than usual to me. PT consisted of a nice 5(?) mile run with 6 stops for pushups and other exercises along the way. We had 30 minutes to hydrate and get all our gear up by the old burn building so we could set up and burn a car and a dumpster. The car fire is probably why my legs hurt so much, I was braced against the nozzle pressure and moving the line around was tough. I think I'm going to start working with a different partner next time, the guy I worked with today kept letting go of the hose to do other things before I had time to shut the line down (he did it twice!)...Lets just say its a good thing one of the instructors was standing right behind me and caught my back as I started to lose it. You can imagine it would take a while to run 20+ people through each position, we did it and cleaned up before 12:00. Went to lunch and took showers, then I realized I had a major problem, I left my uniform belt at home. Uh-oh. Finally got a hold of Mom and she got it to me just a minute or 2 after formation, luckily the instructor was talking to someone- and Mom was close enough to the academy where I was only without it a couple minutes (before class actually started the only time that really counts....whew!).

Today was kinda funny also, the new EMT class started this morning. It was so nice to see someone else with that "oh shit, now what" deer-in-headlights look on their faces. We had a lot of fun laughing at how many almost fell trying to do left- right face maneuvers and a lot of other things. I'm sure we looked just as stupid way back on day 1, but that was a while ago now. The funniest thing is hearing them shout E-804 when they call to attention, it sounds awful. Almost like they're rushing to spit it out fast enough. They got their uniforms today and will start PT tomorrow morning but will be separate from us. Not only are we PT-ing on a more advanced level, but they can't afford to length of time out of the classroom...neither could we when we were in EMT school, that's why we had to split off.

Well, I have a long way to go in my workbooks before tomorrow and not a lot of time to get there, take care.

I love weekends!

Well, I'm glad to say another week is finally behind me- its been a long one. The ladders I mentioned in my last entry were even heavier than I could've imagined. Each ladder is a different length and weight, therefore each has a different number of people it takes to carry it. There was a 28-ft for 3 to carry, 2 35-ft for 4 to carry, then there were the 2 40-ft bangor ladders that need 6 idiots to drag. Any guesses as to which one I was under? Oh yeah, I outta mention we were in full turnout gear and carried the ladders in a flat-shoulder carry. We made it to our destination, about a half mile, and everyone was supposed to switch ladders. If you carried a small ladder, go to the large one for the return trip and vice-versus. Here's where the problems started. Myself and 2 others that carried the bangor ladder had to carry it back, with only one other person. Math lesson, 4 of us under a 6-man ladder...6=4? WRONG!!! We were having major problems and struggling to make it back with the ladder. We made it about halfway back before the instructors figured out the problem. While they went to hunt down the needed help, we were allowed to do what is normally a major no-no, we set the ladder down for a minute. Once we had the needed manpower, the rest of the way wasn't too bad...considering. My classmates saw how spent I was and had me stay between 2 tall people, I did what I could to help. As we neared the tower/finish line, a bunch of the class came to cheer us on, some tried to help with the ladder but the instructors made them back off. Setting that ladder down and getting out of my gear was sweet relief! The rest of the day and a good portion of Wednesday and Thursday was passed doing practicals. If we really get into the practicals (is there any other way?) we are allowed to skip PT that morning, and sometimes we can skip the hourly pushups.

Yesterday morning, the weather was awful, cars were hydroplaning, and the lady who sits next to me got into an accident. Her truck hit a large puddle on the interstate and started to hydroplane, then she lost all control and the truck flipped onto its side and slid. Luckily, she is fine and the truck is repairable.

Today we did the first normal PT in about a week and a half. We did some calisthenics then ran 2.5-3 miles around the academy. (5 laps+change= 1.5 miles) We did 7 laps total, the last 2 were indian runs-the last people in each line sprint to the front, then the next people, and so on. As soon as we finished our laps, we ran straight to and up the 7-story tower, 6 times.

Next week has earned the nickname of "hell week". Monday will be car and dumpster burning, Tuesday-ventilation, Wednesday and Thursday- back to the state fire academy to use the burn building. Fire control is now the name of the game, and I have a feeling the burns will be scorching-especially when we upset the thermal layering. I'm taking some aloe vera with me just in case my ears get blistered.

I'm going to try and get ahead in my workbook and drop my rapid-dress times this weekend, as well as catch up on some sleep. We only get 2 minutes for rapid-dress, I'm at 1:25 as of earlier this week, my goal is 1:15 or better. I made a bet with an instructor and I intend to hold to it.

Too tired to continue...till next time

you want ME to lift THAT?

Today, we entered the fun, fun world of ladders. We spent way too much time in the ice-cold classroom trying to survive the super-dull videos of how to lift, transport, and set up a ladder...properly. Finally, we escaped to the outside, where it was warm enough to wake us all up. We messed around with the ladders a while and went to lunch. Later, we continued lifting the ladders to be carried different ways and tried raising a few. I wasn't the only one who needed more than a little help. We had a 40-ft extension ladder with staypoles that we were "playing" with. I was able to pick it up and managed to get it chest high, but needed help from some buddies to get it over my head and lift enough weight off so I could have a snowballs-chance-in-hell of actually getting it vertical. A bit after that, we were all getting bored and started creating things to do. My buddy, who I've mentioned many times, wants a shoutout so here it comes... While some other folks heeled the ladder, (10 or 14 foot, I don't remember) Eddie lifted the tip chest high and I climbed up so my feet were on the top rung and my hands were covering the tops of the beams. Then he raised me and the ladder over his head multiple times, I was having fun trying not to let my feet slip. It was fun hanging on. Keep in mind, Eddie has military-pressed me over his head while he was standing (all because I said "I'd like to see that") and can bench-press a whopping 405 pounds. I'm going to be a brat and mention that he can sing as good as, if not better than, Edith Bunker. Everyone dies with laughter, including Eddie.

Tomorrow should be...well...interesting. We're going to have to hump the (35 or 40 foot) ladders up to the station and back to the academy (about a mile round-trip), probably in full turnouts. We're going to be outside all day, in the heat, in turnouts mostly, doing practicals. However, one of the instructors said they might bring the big aerial ladder -110 feet- down for us to climb, I hope so. I have no problem with heights or confined spaces, normally 2 big problems for rookies. Whenever we climb the aerial, we will have to lock-in at the top, take both hands off the ladder, and lean back. I want a picture of myself leaned back that high off the ground.

Wish me luck for tomorrow

What a week so far...

**special notice- I was just at the end of a awesome entry, and AO-hell decided to loose the connection for no apparent reason. I gotta get this piece-o-crap computer running right before I go nuts**

OK, now where was I????

What a week this has been, and there's still 2 days left!

Monday was spent at the state academy's burn building. The Instructors set 2 fires, one upstairs and one ground floor, and made sure the building stayed as smoky as possible. We went through multiple times doing search patterns and learning what to do if we ever become disoriented. We only spent a few hours at the burn building, but man did we make them count! And I must say, as I sat on a nozzle just feet from one of the fires waiting my turn to find the way out, fire is an amazingly beautiful thing.

Tuesday we learned all the bookwork for any and all hoses and hose appliances. We had to read over and memorize (duh! what do we read that doesn't have to be memorized) all the different hose lays and rolls, how to inspect hose, cleaning, and the list goes on. PT was also a killer. In the middle of the run, we had to stop for calisthenics and ended up doing 100 pushups without any break.

Ahh, yes, today. We didn't do any PT so-to-speak, our practicals were going to be plenty for the day...be afraid, be very afraid. All the seemingly useless junk we learned yesterday had to be put into use. The hose we were working with was a section of 3 inch that was 50 feet long (about 40 pounds). We rolled and unrolled hose all the way up and around one of the buildings then back to the tower, about 1/6 mile. I'll admit it, I don't have the upper body strength to swing the hose and throw it. I had to get the roll up onto my shoulder and throw it from that height. If this sounds like an easy task, try it! Once everyone finished and rehydrated, we packed the hoses onto our shoulder in an accordion fold and climbed the tower 3 times. Before and after lunch, we practiced other ways to roll the hose. Once our instructors joined us, we switched gears for a while. We learned how to extend a charged hoseline and how to replace a busted section. Then, for what seemed like the instructors amusement, we were allowed to pair up and open the nozzle. The purpose was to let us feel the difference between a fog and straight stream. Let's just say I'm glad I had a big partner or that hose would've pushed my 150 pound butt all over the place! Next thing we knew, it was time to clean up and go home...yaay!!

In all seriousness, I know the instructors are there to help us and I'm grateful they put up with us...But I wish some of my classmates could grasp the idea of when to shut up and to remember the "sir or ma'am" when they speak to the instructors. They are NOT going to be our friends as long as we are in training!!! Yeah, they may joke around with us and laugh some, but don't think they won't turn face in a heartbeat and PT us until we drop. Get that idea out of your thick skull because it ain't gonna happen.

OK, I've had my schpeel, and it's time to eat something and call it a night...Till next time

Mail Call!!

Well, it's here, the "big envelope." My National Registry numbers and certificate came yesterday. So now I can prove I'm official...12 weeks to learn EMT-B and EMT-I, that's a lot of info in a very short amount of time. Out of my class of 24 that took the exam, only 9 passed the written portion (everyone passed practicals). The scary thing is, those pass:fail ratios are normal. (At least you get 3 chances to pass) I was asked to try and help do some studying with a couple classmates who live nearby.

Lucky for me, we are still doing a lot of PT in the mornings. No I'm not being sarcastic, right now it's a good thing. I have almost completely sweated this cold out. The colds you get in the summer months are always the hardest to get rid of.

The past couple days at the academy haven't been too bad, a lot of time has been spent doing rapid-dress. We did a competition yesterday during PT to see which squad could run 1 lap around the academy while linking their ropes together with a bowline with a safety (type of knot), then rapid-dress and climb up and back down the tower (7 stories) as a group. My squad was not the first to finish our lap, but we were the only squad to have all of our knots tied correctly. As we made it to the top of the tower, 1st squad started catching up-minus one little problem- they weren't all together. We took off down the tower and were the first one's to finish. Our reward? Not having to do any extra PT, other than the 20 pushups each hour.

Later in the day, we grabbed our gear for practicals...pants, helmet, work gloves. We were also told to grab our facepieces and nomex hoods. The instructors set out a few cones and we put our facepieces on with the masks over them-backwards. The practical was to pair us up with a classmate and have us crawl from one cone to the other, then switch who was leading and find our way back to the first cone. All done to simulate doing a search, a lot harder than it seems. A couple groups were so far off track, we had to move out of the way so they wouldn't "find" us. When we go to the burn building Monday, the instructors are going to hide objects for us to find as we do our searches. Most of the people in the class claim they are not claustrophobic, many of those will probably change their minds in a couple days. The building will be full of smoke and will be on fire. Anyone who has ever worn a facepiece with the hood knows how much it decreases your peripherial vision, now add intense heat, smoke, and flames. It should be a very interesting day.

take care 

relaxation time

Good news, one of the answers on the answer key from yesterday's test was marked wrong...And that means I really got the question right- I passed the test after all (70%- not great, but I'll take it.).

Today was dull, ran 4-5 miles this morning, spent a while doing rapid-dress, and worked on knots for the rest of the day. Me and another recruit went up to the 3rd floor to hoist objects our classmates were tying- fans, ladders, ect. I learned very quickly to pull the rope around my back to lower the objects back down. It was a slow day, minus doing pushups on the hour. I'm still sick, but I have managed to sweat most of it out (I hope).

Just a few more days until we go to the state fire academy to use the burn building, and I can't wait. Tomorrow will be rescue information, possibly maze drills, who knows what they have in store for us.

Aaaaa-CHOOOO!!!

Well, today somewhat sucks...that's right, I have a cold in the middle of July. It's been bouncing around my class for over a month and I finally caught it.

YESTERDAY....learned about portable extinguishers, then got to use a couple. We got into full turnouts (were not allowed to be on air or have on our facepiece) and went to the burn pits. Each pit is probably 6 ft in diameter and 4 ft tall. We approached with a dry chemical extinguisher first, then a CO2 extinguisher, all with the aid of an instructor. Now don't get me wrong, I know fire is hot, but MAN, standing a couple feet from it anything exposed will get roasted!

TODAY...instead of normal PT, we spent 2 1/4 hours doing rapid-dress and running around the academy and up the tower. It's rough to get into full gear and be on air in 2 minutes or less, I was able to do it in 1:45. We took our fire extinguisher test, which I hate to say, I fubar-ed (too many conflicts over time in my personal life, I know I could've done better). But I did get some good news, I passed all portions of the National Registry and will be getting the "big envelope". The latter portion of the day was spent learning knots. We now have our ropes, and tomorrow will continue tying knots and will name the rope. Oh, on a side note, these ropes will stay with us until graduation, god help you if the instructors get a hold of your rope...you will earn it back.

I hear cold medicine and my bed calling out to me, the VCR is set to record "Rescue Me", and I've got to get some sleep-unlike last night.

Take care

NPQ-I...week 1 so far

Yep, you read it right, week 1 of NPQ-I class is almost over. Can't say I'll miss it, 1 down-13 to go. So far, we've taken 3 tests (yeah, 3, it's crazy). Not bad scores either, 81,82, and 95%. And I thought EMT-I in 12 weeks seemed ludacris..ha! that now seems as though it was a walk in the park. This week has also had a bit of humor for us, the explorer post for the county is doing their summer camp. It's so funny to watch these kids running around in turnouts...with BLUE reflectors! I caught a couple of the females in the locker room complaining about the PT when I was headed for the shower today. They didn't realize our class had been working out for nearly an hour by the time they got to the academy. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I know better than that... I also know this PT will literally save my tail on many occasions, but, it's been difficult to adjust to the new routine. In EMT class, we were spoiled, PT was held to only an hour- now it's a minimum of 1 1/2 hours...usually 2. We are also doing a lot more running, and going greater distances. Well, let me tell a quick story...

Day 2...0700....Formation...first day of PT.........

In formation, at "at ease", waiting for our fate to be decided. A quick glance towards the Admin. building, a sudden sinking feeling. **think old time western here** All 6 instructors are lined up, side-by-side, marching in step, with torture on their minds. The closer they get, the more intense they become.

"Atten-tion!"

Now, in range, the slaughter begins. "Yeah, C'Mon! Let's see who's gonna drop first."

Push-up position...lost count..........................six-inches...have no idea how long we went without our feet touching the deck. Running formation! We made it to the B-Shop parking lot to do PT...nosebreakers and more six-inches. Back in formation and on to "Taco Hill." More push-ups. The guy next to me was having trouble getting on his feet afterwards so I tried to help (he's nearly double my size). Luckily, a few classmates saw me and ran over to help. Poor guy was so burned already, he couldn't even get his feet under his body...we were holding him up. A quick decision was made to lay him down. A couple instructors finally came over to see what the fuss was about, they called another instructor at the academy to bring the van to pick my classmate up. He was having a rough time catching his breath and kept feeling like he was going to throw up. **Here's where the instructors frustrated me** After them drilling into our skulls "leave no man behind" we had to get in running formation and head off to finish our run. We made it a good portion of the way to the library before a lot of people started dropping out (walking or stopping to catch their breath). The instructors decided to let them catch up, then head home. About halfway back, the same folks started dropping like flies again. By this time, the instructors seemed to be getting a little pissed.

"If you fall-out, too bad, let's see what the rest of you got....I wanna know how bad you want this!"

Here's where the running pace picked up considerably. As we passed the B-Shop, I got a side-stitch (major cramp in oblique muscle, makes it somewhat painful to breathe deep). I was only 10 feet behind the formation, that grew rapidly to nearly 100 ft. Rounding the backside of the tower, I caught up with the help of a classmate. Once everyone caught up, we ran the tower (7 stories high). Ran to get into formation again, quick stretch, then put at "attention".

Like buzzards circling a carcass in the desert, the instructors paced the formation, trying to get someone, anyone, to break. The longer I stood, the sicker I began to feel. Before you junp on me, NO, I did not lock my knees...And YES, I was doing my best to stay hydrated. I told the guy standing in front of me that I wasn't feeling too good and he shifted so he could keep an eye on me in case I fell out. I was getting dizzy and real light-headed, close to passing out. I bent forward with my arms bracing me (think standing tripod position) to try and breathe a little better. The head instructor saw me bent over, with my classmate holding my shoulder to keep me standing. He must have been in a forgiving mood- I was sent inside to rehydrate and stand in front of the AC. He followed me in and told me to stay until I was recovered.

The rest of the day passed without major incident, but many times the instructors asked if I was OK...I didn't let them get to me. We went through 2 chapters in the book and called it a day at 1530 (3:30 pm).

Right now, I can't wait until tomorrow. Today was spent learning how to assemble the bottle to the SCBA backpack, how to work the PASS alarm (of course, mine just had to have a dead battery so it's going to the shop), and how to bleed the lines with the regulator. Tomorrow, we will begin doing rapid-dress...getting into full turnout gear in under 2 minutes for those that are a little lost.

In a week from Monday, we'll be going to the state fire academy to use the burn building...ours is still under construction. It's amazing to think about just how fast we are moving through the information.

Well, I think this entry is plenty long-enough to make up for some of the ones I've missed....Take care 

happy birthday to me

Today, I finally turn 20! woo hoo! Spent the early part of the day doing practicals for the National Registry...good news, unofficial results, passed all 4 practical stations. I feel pretty good about how I did on the written portion last night, it'll take 3-4 weeks for the official results. Little time to relax, NPQ-I training starts monday.

I know I've been slacking on entries, been running like a chicken with it's head cut off. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up soon.

Quick note

My 24-hour shift went great Saturday, I'm trying to remeber as much as possible so I won't have to edit this thing a million times. In a couple hours, I have to be at the ER for my 8-hr shift...I plan to come home tomorrow, sleep, pack some stuff, and update. I leave Thursday to go to a large function in Columbus, be back sometime Sunday late afternoon/early evening. My new cell phone will be here early Thursday too. Goodbye POS Cingular phone, hello Nextel!!! Very bad experiences with Cingular for the past 20 months, I will not recommend them to anyone ever again.

Almost time to get official, aka put on uniform, and go to work,  take care and don't let me see you tonight!!

slacking again

Had a big exam this week, anything and everything trauma-related. Scored a 98%, not bad for a test with 200 questions. Don't remember if I recorded this or not, but on my pediatric/geriatrics exam- perfect 100%. I'm going to have a few days off next week during clinicals, that's when I'll catch up on my entries. Sorry I've been slacking again, finishing up all the classwork and getting ready for National Registry in 2 weeks. Besides, Saturday I'll be assigned to and ambulance for 24 hours and I'm sure to have some good stories for ya then.

Now, quickly, let me hit on a newfound "touchy" subject. For those of you who support me or leave supportive comments, I thank you.  However, if you have nothing nice to say, don't leave a comment. I just deleted 3 highly offensive comments from a person named "yousuckbeyatch". Again, I appreciate those of you who have read and those who continue to read this, but if a comment is left that is offensive (cursing a lot, bad-mouthing me or my job, simply being a jerk) I will delete it and block you from commenting.

Sorry to end on a sour note, I'll try to cheer up before I do the big update.

Take care

many things...

Not a lot going on at the academy the end of the week. Clinicals will be week after next. I'll be riding for 24 hours on the busiest ambulance in the county (on Sat, July 3rd), and doing my 8 hours of ER rotation ther following Tuesday-from 2300-0700 at DMC (local level-2 trauma center). Yesterday we went for round 2 of our Hep B shots, we also had to do a MMR Tider. We have to have our shot records turned in as well as <crosses fingers> having a positive MMR tider before we will be allowed to do our clinical rotations. The tider's have been put on a rush since they normally take 2 weeks, we have 1. If the results don't come back in time, we'll have to get the shots anyway...which will suck if it turns out your immune after-the-fact.

Well, Thursday, after class, was fun. After more than an hour of tearing my car apart, we finally gave in to the fact that my new speakers just won't fit in the trunk. The box is just barely too big, as in less than an inch. I give credit to the installer, he kept trying. We pulled the plastic out, then the carpet, then the whole spare tire and everything else...still a half inch too big. For the time being, the box is hooked up---in the back seat. Hopefully the same setup, but with 10" subs, will come in Monday. Slightly smaller subs=slightly smaller box.

Last night my boyfriend finally came home...he's been on active military duty for a month. He wasn't able to stay long, he wanted to suprise his parents (they thought he would be getting home tonight). We had a chance to swap gifts and talk for a bit before he had to leave. I gave him something with a dragon on it and another little thing with the american flag. He gave me a shirt, and, as a bit of a joke, a new cadence book. Woo Hoo! New cadences to use during PT...hearing the same ones day after day gets very old-very quickly. Later on today, we are going to go to Stone Mtn. and hang out for a while, then watch the laser show. I have a major trauma exam Monday, but my boyfriend said he'll help me study. I'm not going to ask him to say any of the medical terms(I have trouble with a couple myself), but he offered to read the definitions (so I could match the terms) or make up questions from the book. I guess that's the good thing about both of us being in public safety, he really understands why I have to study so much. Since I'm with fire-rescue and he's with the sherriff, there's enough distance between us so we can't get on eachother's nerves and will very rarely cross paths at work.

Stay safe

Day for a Daydream...

Yesterday wasn't too glorious, I almost lost my temper with a classmate. OK, I've been a lot of places and done a lot of things. Yesterday we were learning about trauma, specifically for this story, car accidents. The instructor posed the question if anyone knew what the front windshield of a car was made of. Everyone was tossing around suggestions but no one really knew. A classmate who sits behind me made the comment (in a rude voice) "ask Brandi, she ought to know." Well, I was nicer than I wanted to be. I turned around and said "well excuse me for ever working at NAPA." **if you don't know, NAPA is a huge automotive parts retailer**  She had been making comments all day....Well she didn't say anything else to or about me the rest of the day. I don't like it that it happened, but she, along with one other person, had been wearing on my nerves all day. I had already mentioned it to my platoon leader, he said he would address the issue with them in private.

Today has been fun so far<insert partial sarcasm here>. Dentist appointment this morning, went and bought a flag to give our instructors...in the blue field, the original skyline of New York and "September 11, 2001"... My car's new stereo comes in tomorrow, going from 1-10" subwoofer and upgrading to 3-12" subs in a bandpass box. I'm also going to have the capacitor that I already had wired into the system. You can check out what my car looks like at http://www.cardomain.com/id/iorg101.

Later on today, I'm going to go wash my car (there's a meet tomorrow night) and hang out with a couple people from the car club. Don't know what else yet, I'll find something to do. Right now I'm about to go and either play XBox or study, probably some of both.

take care

If anyone reading this has a state EMS patch from any state other than Hawaii, please let me know...it's for a project at the fire academy.

Crazy things goin' on

It's been a bit hectic since Wednesday. My grandad is still in the hospital, his cancer is back. My Aunt's (who's been in a nursing home for a year) house was sold, so I had to help clean it out over the weekend. I did manage to spend a little time with my dad yesterday, I bought him a flight simulator-type game for XBox. Air Force Delta Storm...This computer is too slow to run his good programs anymore, something's better than nothing. It's taking a bit of getting used to, but he's figuring it out and seems to like it.

Today we took our geriatrics/pediatrics exam....100%....I was so excited, that somewhat makes up for exam #5.

Today was weird, it went from boring to interesting to barely staying awake. We did our PT along with another roll in the water. Took the exam and ate lunch. Then we split into groups and worked with immobilization devices. My group went outside and I pulled my car around so we could get used to working in cramped quarters. It took a while, but I was finally removed from my car with the help of a KED (Kendrick Extrication Device). Then, so I could have a turn, a clasmate climbed into the driver's seat and I helped extricate her. One thing's for sure, it's a lot easier to use the KED with 3 people instead of 2... Luckily for us, 5 of the NPQ-I's were watching us work-they helped out a lot when it came time to move her to the backboard from the vehicle. I held the head of the board and, well, shoved it under her while they held onto the sides. C-spine was passed to a person outside the car (as the patient was pivoted) and she was slid onto the board, fully immobilized, and placed on the ground without further incident.

We went back into the classroom, watched the lightening (it kept killing the power=no powerpoint), and somewhat goofed around for 20 minutes or so. The storm passed, the clouds cleared, and it was time to learn about burns...Like I said before, we were fighting to stay awake.

Catching up...

OK, here it is, much awaited for updates.

THURSDAY 6-10-04

PT added a new twist for our workout pleasure. We did our normal workout at the academy, then went for our run. PT'd at Taco Hill, nothing really out of the ordinary...yet. As we ran down the street back inside the academy, we passed a decent sized puddle of water/mud. After a quick turn-around, we went through the puddle. No, I wish we ran through it, we had to roll in it. Continued running to the tower, ran up the stairs, did our 20 pushups topside, and raced down the stairs. We got back into PT formation and started to stretch. That's when our instructor noticed half the folks in the class aren't wet enough...let's go back. Running formation, another roll through the puddle, and a tower climb later, we finish our stretching. Next thing you know, the hose is turned on and we literally hose each other down. It sounds crazy, but here in Georgia, after a workout, it felt awesome.

The other classes didn't do much while we were gone (over an hour). As we hosed off, they hopped onto the academy's bus and took off. We later found out the bus dropped them a couple miles from the academy and they had to run back.

FRIDAY 6-11-04

As we did a warmup with some light PT, we had Thursday on our minds...anything you can do, we can do better. Not only did we run, we ran to a point over halfway to where the bus dropped the other classes Friday-there and back, around 3-4 miles. BTW, any time we run anywhere, we go by Taco Hill on the way back and do a little PT in the parking lot.

Later that night, 2130 (9:30 pm) I went to "Radio" to sit in for a while. I met one of our dispatchers on a scanner website and he gave me the number to call. I sat in on the north fire dispatch until almost 4 am. There were a lot of...interesting calls. Not really sure what I can write about without breaching patient-confidentiality, let's just say there was a person who thought her bed was on fire, it wasn't... about 3 different locations of 1 car accident...and a bunch of call-swapping. If nothing else, I learned a few of "Radio's" pet peeves  1. If you decided your unit is closer to the call than the unit dispatched, and the 2 units debate over the call, let Radio know who is actually responding.  2. Even if you go to a TAC channel, you should not refer to someone as 'loopy', it may give the dispatcher and anyone nearby a good laugh, but it's not good if the public hears it on a scanner.  3. If Radio wants to know the status of your unit, answer them on the dang radio-that's why you have it.  4. Who cares if the patient and his/her family yelled at you, don't take it out on the dispatcher, the most ridiculous, annoying, and time-consuming calls will find you (especially if it's close to shift-change).

MONDAY 6-14-04

So there we are, doing our warmup (light PT, I feel a good run coming on), minding our own business, here come the other classes. Their instructors must have thought it would be funny to do a staredown. They march to the front of our formation, turn to face us, and call to attention. We ignored them and kept doing our workout. A couple minutes later, they either got bored or gave up, either way, they went for their run. We finished warming-up and went for a run ourselves. Didn't go as far as we did Friday, but we made it count. Another pass by Taco Hill, and a stop at our new favorite swimming hole on the way to the tower.

Class was, very, well, interesting. We finally got to work with one of the stretchers, learning how to raise/lower it, what level it has to be on to clear into the back of the ambulance, and what level is safe for transport (to and from the ambulance). We also spent a little time learning about psychaitric patients...and how to restrain them. Sorry, no straight-jackets, just wrist/ankle bands. Most of the comments I'm not going to repeat, but let's just say even the instructor was rolling around laughing. We had to have a break just to try and calm down a little. 

TUESDAY 6-15-04

Another shortened workout so we could extend our run. Ran up to the main road, and over to the mall. Straight-forward run down the front of the mall through the parking lot. We did pause for a bit to PT and have a couple contests, diamond pushups, and diamond-nosebreaker pushups. Went to Taco Hill, then started back towards the academy. It's been raining lately so there are more "pools" along the road. Rolled through one, hopped up, ran across the street, rolled through another (about 6 inches deep). Here's where it got fun, we didn't go into the academy. We ran to the fire station at the top of the hill, I've mentioned it before, they have a volleyball court. As we came up the hill-just within sight of the sand pit- we started chanting "I wanna be a sugar-cookie." As the firefighters realized we were coming 'for a visit', they all came outside to watch...nearly 20 of them, it's a large station. (I can already hear the jokes if I get assigned there.) Started with a few races across the sand, then paired up. Had to lay on our stomachs and leap-frog sideways across the sand and back, we truly were sugar-cookies. Ran to the academy, did the tower (run up, 20 pushups, race down). As you exit the tower, you run around a bit of a corner...there's the instructor, with the hose, nailing folks. We had a good stretch, then had to run over to where a patient (dummy) was laying after falling off the gear shed. Helped remind us you have to be always ready, doesn't matter if you're tired, wet, and still halfway covered in sand...did I mention most of us had taken our shoes off too?

Took exam #5, I'm not happy with my score, 85.6%.  Now don't get me wrong, I know I could've done worse, and I did pass with flying colors...but I could have done a lot better. I don't like making excuses, but I've had a lot on my mind lately. Last tuesday, my great-uncle was buried. Since Thursday, my grandfather has been in the hospital (see previous entry). I've spent so much time in the hospital the past couple days, I haven't gotten much sleep. I still try to study every day, but lately, my mind keeps wandering because of my grandad.

Later on, we did yard duties. That afternoon, about 1600, the weather turned nasty and started pouring rain with bad lightening. As a joke, our platoon leader commented "wouldn't it be a shame if we had to go home early? I'm afraid of lightening."  Well, the instructor went for it....we grabbed our stuff, put the chairs up, and de-assed the academy before they could change their minds.

I think I've caught up, not to mention I'm tired of writing now...take care

Slacker...

I know, I've been slacking on entries. I don't have much time to write this one either. I promise to do a real update soon...Fun things to add, what it's like to sit in at Radio (dispatch), more crazy things to do during PT, a couple jokes the classes pulled on each other...  It's been more than rough the past week, my grandfather is in serious but stable condition at the hospital. He now has CHF, emphysema, left kidney failure, a thorasic aortic aneurism, and a mass between his kidney and bladder. Not to mention his heart is working at 25% of what it should and he decided to yank out his IV's and catheder this morning. We aren't sure when or even IF he'll get to come home. I've got another exam tomorrow, hopefully I'll get my score tomorrow, if I do I'll update then.

Stay safe and take care of yourself... you only get one body-make it last!

In a hurry

Don't have much time to write today, I'll add more tomorrow...hopefully pictures also.

Today was my great-uncle's funeral, 90 years old, had a stroke which caused seizures. Weird thing is, I learned about strokes and seizures Friday, he went by ambulance to the hospital Friday night. I'm not too shaken up about his passing, we weren't very close.

I earned a 90.64% on exam #4 yesterday. Still happy with my scores so far. Practicals will be a whole 'nother story (practicals are when you actually do things instead of test over them). As of today I'm dangerous, learned how to perform a IO on a small child...If you don't know what an IO is, be happy, it hurts like hell (thankfully is only done if you're knocked out completely). **mental picture** just imagine driving a big needle, the size of the ink cartrige from an inkpen, straight into your shin.

Gotta run, traffic will only get worse and I got a ways to go...

What a day!

I would add pictures from today, but AOL doesn't like me that much...I'll fight it later.

Today was the best day we've had at the academy. Yesterday, the NPQ-I class decided to come into our room with a little...show. 'Class attention'    "E-404   you may think you've got it, but without this rope-you ain't sh**"  Oh it's on now. Today they came in from a break to find a sign on their door  HANGING ROPES     Geriatric home of the 'old-old'   We gave you enough rope to hang yourselves with.   Today's lunch: prunes and Metamucil    Today's activities: knitting and embroidery            When we went on our next break, we had a sign on our door that said 'NURSERY'....had a bottle and abc building blocks. Obviously, we retaliated again during lunch. Put a picture of a gravesite 'NPQ- rest in pieces'  with a crow on the tombstone and a hangman's noose hanging from a tree in the background. We had a couple people keep them occupied while we flipped every table upside-down and put a glove on the door. We blew the glove up and taped down 3 fingers, middle and thumb left up, get it? We also managed to grab one of their ropes they have to wear (for practicing knots) and put it on a manequin in our room...along with a pair of sunglasses and a sign pointing to the dummy's butt "KISS THIS"         According to their instructor, 'it's on now, ya'll are going to get it.'   That just egged us on...a couple NPQ-I students left some of their PT clothes on the back porch to dry. Next thing you know, the clothes were hanging from the tower...7 stories up. The same instructor went up to get the gear. (Keep in mind, we have a lot of military folks who know some cool knots) She pulls the rope up, as soon as it touched the little lip at the top, the 'pop knot' worked it's magic and the clothes went flying. It was beautiful. They landed with a satisfying WHUMP onto the kitchen roof. The NPQ-II class had to help her get the ladder to get the stuff down.

Class itself was ok. Went over what will be on our exam Monday. Then we learned about strokes, seizures, and other similar situations. A lot of the things we learn don't seem like there would be that much to it, there is. I usually don't feel like writing it all in here because I don't want to bore you and I'd rather spend that time studying.

Today was one of our classmate's last day. He is a military man and has been activated. He reports Monday for his orders and will probably be going to Iraq. Come home safe 'Soul man!' We'll be waiting for your safe return!

Immature people suck

On my Exam Tuesday (#3) I earned an 88.6%, not the best, but I'll take it.

Today started off with a good PT. Nice run up to "Taco Hill," workout in the parking lot, not an overload-but decent amount of excercises besides running up the hill. Back inside the academy, our platoon leader carried a guy from another class up the tower as a joke...the guy passed out/fell inside the tower a couple days ago during a physical ability test. Everyone's been ribbing him about it, we were saying "yeah, you made it all the way up this time, good job...'bout time." Good morning for PT.

Class was somewhat boring, learned about diabetes, signs/symptoms/ect... Then people decided to act their shoe size instead of IQ. Every class makes a class shirt. We found a design that's awesome...Star of life with a dragon climbing over one side, surrounded by flames, inside the star is a shield (like what's on the front of a fire helmet) that will read Fire Rescue-404-DCFR. One person is refusing the design because it's too demonic...WTF??? Like running into a burning building, choking down smoke, and playing with fire isn't Hell? Come on! She wants the Star of life with the serpent to be on the shirt, yet she says snakes aren't demonic. Besides, we may be in EMT school right now, but we are going to fire school too, we can only make one shirt. It needs to reflect both sides of our training- who cares if we won't start NPQ school for 6 more weeks?!?

Ok, I think I've got it outta my system now...I hope the class can grow up and come back together tomorrow, we are a team and our lives may someday depend on us working together- like it or not

A Military Man

The average age of the military man is 19 years.

He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy.

Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country.

He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either.

He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.

He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and 155mm Howitzers.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.

He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark.

He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.

He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.

He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.

He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle.

He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food.

He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.

He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime.

He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them.

He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.

Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.

Beardless or not, he is not a boy.

He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.

He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.

Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

Bored

Thursday....

Fairly long day, I didn't get to do PT because I had to go with a couple classmates for a random drug screening. Feel the overwhelming excitement? Made it back to the Academy in time to join the rest of the class in the lesson of the day: Geriatrics   aka, old folks. This is one of the largest chapters and it took most of the day. About 1530, or 3:30, I went with one of the instructors and about 5 classmates to station 20 (just up the hill from us) to pick up the 'new' stove for the academy. We got it loaded and I rode in the back of the instructor's truck with the stove, everyone else piled on the other truck. When we got down the hill, we backed the truck in behind the tower. The NPQ-II class was working with a master stream that can be unmanned, had 2 lines running to it from the engine. We were warned about the time they cranked it up. I saw the lines charge, jumped out of the truck, and saw the stream start to spin. Me and the Instructor ducked just as the water hit the side of the truck. The NPQ class shut it down fast, but the damage was done...all the windows were rolled down and the interior was now soaked. It didn't really matter, nothing was destroyed, it will dry with time, and it really was a hot day-the water felt good. I still don't know how many psi the water was coming out of the nozzle at, I just knew I didn't want it to hit me.

One of the other classes at the academy is smaller now. 2 people were let go for not being able to meet the physical requirements. I knew one of them from when I was injured and on light PT...She was a paramedic, the other was a EMT-I, the county isn't playing when they said this would be hard work. I hope it sends a wake-up call to the people in my class who think they can skate through everything.

Friday...

No PT, we spent from 0700-1400 in CEVO II...It's all the bookwork for driving an ambulance. (if you look at older entries, this is the other half of EVOC)  The best part of the day was that another EMT-I class joined us. This class is held on the off-days of current county veterans, some have been here 19 years, who were never trained as EMT-I's- but need the class to be promoted. 2 people in the other class are on the K-9 search and rescue team. I want to join the team when I've been with the county long enough, and it was great getting to talk with them and play with the dogs. They also have my number so I can help with training excercises, I live a couple miles from one of the training fields and they always need new 'victims'.

The rest of the day was spent going over our study guides, the exam is supposed to be Tuesday.

Today...

Been nothing special so far, deposited my paycheck this morning, played video games for a little while, went on a couple errands with mom. I now have a fireman shaped cookie jar...you lift it's head and it says "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the cookie jar!" Cute- a bit dimented, but cute. Later on tonight, me and the boyfriend are going to go to Stone Mountain to see the laser show, it's supposed to be special this weekend because of Memorial Day. Monday, we're going to White Water with some friends, maybe I'll get rid of some of this farmer's tan.    **huh, as I write this I know I have 21 more weeks...the farmer's tan is here to stay.**

As always, especially on a holiday weekend, stay safe 

Don't forget to celebrate the true reason we have this holiday, remember, there are many families who are without their loved ones- many have fought in wars past, but many are fighting now...

A day off

Not too much going on today, then again, it's still early. I've been lounging around, watching TV and drawing- I'm gonna squeeze in a couple hours of studying tonight.

PT was overall good yesterday. We did a major ab workout, as well as nearly 200 pushups. Then fell into running formation and had a great run around the academy. As we ran, we did a rotating line, last 2 people sprint to the front, then next 2, and so on... A couple of the instructors were goofing around racing each other and having a good old time. Well, one of the guys in the NPQ-II class who is always the "eager beaver" decides to race one of the instructors. A few minutes later, I'm next to sprint and I hear the instructor "doesn't anyone wanna run?" I turn around, look him straight in the face "I'll take you." Oh boy did he love that, he looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. He ended up beating me, but not by much. All he said was "I like that," this could be good...I hope.

After PT we went to our classroom and picked up our study sheets, 6 packets in all. We studied until 1100 when we went on break, then went straight into lunch. (dang instructors, make up your minds.) About 1200, we started house duties, mowing, picking up trash, the whole bit. I finished picking up trash and went to help wash the vehicles. All our soap and brushes are in a room called the Cave, which was locked. And take a guess which instructor came with the key...yep, my running 'buddy'. When I went to give him back his key, I ended up talking with him for a few minutes. He asked me what I was thinking when I challenged him during PT. I asked him if he would be one of our instructors when my class went to NPQ training. "Yeah, why?" **keep in mind, at this point, most of the instructors are starting to joke around with us and become somewhat friendly...outside of PT that is** I told him, "you just wait until I get into your class, you're going to wish it was week 5 again when I smoke you." All he could say was that he would hold me to that, and now it's a bet...he was laughing pretty good, but knew I was serious.

Finished house duties and went back to studying for a little while. We spent the last couple hours doing scenarios of patient assessment. We split into groups, moved all the tables aside (ahhh, air conditioning) and one person played a patient while the other 3 went into the hallway. We checked our jump-bags, and put on gloves...then our instructor gave us the scenario. 25 y/o male ejected from vehicle through front windshield, unresponsive, PD is onscene and has roadway shut down. We walk in the classroom, see our "patient" and, since he isn't a real patient, have to ask the instructor, is the scene safe, any other patients, how far is he from the vehicle/what condition is the vehicle in? We get the go-ahead...go to our patient, get c-spine (he was laying prone, or face-down), check responsiveness, and do a quick check of his backside. All good, prepare to-and roll him onto the long spineboard. Airway clogged, suctioned until clear, breathing 10x's minute, applied a oropharyngeal airway (don't ask) and BVM (bag valve mask...we didn't use O2 since it's just a simulation). Pulse was 120 and weak, while my other partner applied a c-collar, I did a quick assessment, anything gushing blood, sticking out, whatever had to be fixed before 'moving him to the ambulance.' Look to instructor, he has a obvious femur fracture and evisceration of abdomen. Partners both saying we need to scoop and go. OK, I would cover his belly with a foil blanket and tape it down, then continue immobilization to the board. Instructor asked "OK, so you've got him in the ambulance, now what?" Enroute to the hospital, take vital signs every 5, stabilize his femur, begin a more in-depth assessment...."Oh, your patient just stopped breathing at all on his own." At this point I would insert a combitube.  "Good job, next group."  Whew, was I glad that was over!!!

Like I said at the top, overall, good PT and good day. Next week, our class will do PT separate from the group...We have too much to learn and are falling behind our schedule, mainly because PT keeps running late.

Stay safe